After 9/11 The Intimate Story

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, New Yorkers from all walks of life felt compelled to overcome their sense of powerlessness by volunteering to help out in the recovery effort. They brought in supplies, set up relief stations, and for ten months fed and cared for the recovery workers. Many deep and unexpected — even unlikely — relationships developed out of this.

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The September 11 attacks (often referred to as 9/11) were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by Islamic extremists belonging to the al-Qaeda movement upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners.  The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the building, causing both buildings to collapse within two hours, destroying at least two nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville in rural Somerset County, Pennsylvania, after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C. There are no known survivors from any of the flights.

Excluding the 19 hijackers, 2,974 people died in the attacks. Another 24 are missing and presumed dead. The overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals of over 90 different countries. In addition, the death of at least one person from lung disease was ruled by a medical examiner to be a result of exposure to dust from the World Trade Center’s collapse, as rescue and recovery workers were exposed to airborne contaminants following the buildings’ collapse.

The United States responded to the attacks by declaring a War on Terrorism, launching an invasion of Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, who had harbored al-Qaeda terrorists, and enacting the USA PATRIOT Act. Many other nations also strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded law enforcement powers. Stock exchanges closed for almost a week, and posted enormous losses upon reopening, especially in the airline and insurance industries. The economy of Lower Manhattan ground to a halt, as billions of dollars in office space was damaged or destroyed.

The damage to the Pentagon was cleared and repaired within a year, and a small memorial was built on the site. Rebuilding the World Trade Center site has proven more difficult, with controversy over possible designs as well as the pace of construction. Construction delays, revised cost estimates, security concerns, and public criticism have all lead to significant changes and delays to the final plans in rebuilding the complex.

In the days immediately following the attacks, many memorials and vigils were held around the world.  In addition, pictures were placed all over Ground Zero. A witness described being unable to “get away from faces of innocent victims who were killed. Their pictures are everywhere, on phone booths, street lights, walls of subway stations. Everything reminded me of a huge funeral, people quiet and sad, but also very nice. Before, New York gave me a cold feeling; now people were reaching out to help each other.”

The Tribute in Light viewed from Jersey City on the anniversary of the attacks in 2004  One of the first memorials was the Tribute in Light, an installation of 88 searchlights at the footprints of the World Trade Center towers which projected two vertical columns of light into the sky.   In New York, the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition was held to design an appropriate memorial on the site. The winning design, Reflecting Absence, was selected in August 2006, and consists of a pair of reflecting pools in the footprints of the towers, surrounded by a list of the victims’ names in an underground memorial space.   Plans for a museum on the site have been put on hold, following the abandonment of the International Freedom Center after criticism from the families of many victims.

At the Pentagon, an outdoor memorial is completed, which consists of a landscaped park with 184 benches facing the Pentagon.  When the Pentagon was rebuilt in 2001–2002, a private chapel and indoor memorial were included, located at the spot where Flight 77 crashed into the building.

At Shanksville, a permanent Flight 93 National Memorial is in planning stages, which will include a sculpted grove of trees forming a circle around the crash site, bisected by the plane’s path, while wind chimes will bear the names of the victims.   A temporary memorial is located 500 yards (457 m) from the Flight 93 crash site near Shanksville.  New York City firefighters donated a memorial to the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Company. It is a cross made of steel from the World Trade Center and mounted atop a platform shaped like the Pentagon.   It was installed outside the firehouse on August 25, 2008.

Many other permanent memorials are being constructed around the world and a list is being updated as new ones are completed.   In addition to physical monuments, scholarships and charities have been established by the victims’ loved ones, along with many other organizations and private figures.

Dad wishes to thank Wikipedia and all who have contributed to the ongoing data recording for 9/11.

Please take a moment today, a moment of silence, to pray, to reflect on the tragedy that hit our country on that horrible day.  Then give thanks for the amazing way in which the American people united, came together as one, the eagle, to search out those responsible.  I am proud to be an American!